The Planted Tank Forum - View Single Post

dekstr · 11-11-2007, 01:54 AM

MASSIVE UPDATE TODAY!!!!!

I went down to Menagerie and got a whole bunch of plants.

1 bunch of Elocharis acicularis--Java Fern
1 bunch of Hygrophila polysperma (Large-leafed)
1 2x2 mat of Elocharis acicularis--Dwarf Hairgrass
1 bunch of Glossostigma elatinoides

There was also HC that just came with the shipment Thursday, but it was $15 for like a 2x2 mat. The hairgrass also cost $15. The glosso cost $5. I needed the hairgrass, and it came down to HC versus glosso. Obviously I got glosso cause it cost less.

I was all geared up to get myself 3-4 Corydoras habrosus (Salt and Pepper Cory) because the new shipment had just arrived Thursday and they're usually rare in Toronto. But turns out the cardinals which were housed in the same tank developed ich--so not for sale until the ich clears up.

I got to put 3 cories on hold though.

There were also some Rasbora maculata that came with the shipment. They would've been perfect for the nano except my tank's not cycled yet. No worries though since they said there were like 400 of them left.

Also got some frozen brine shrimp for the first time; I put about the same amount as they would normally finish flakes in one minute. My fish went crazy and obliterated the shrimp in about 10 seconds. So I fed them again five minutes later... and then again five minutes later. I think I overfed.

The java fern and hygro went to my main 20 gal high low tech.
The glosso and hairgrass went to my nano!!!

The plants in the bag.

Plants on a plate + drained most water from tank.

The moment I realized that there was way too much hairgrass to plant. I ended up having a lot leftover. Didn't want to throw it out so I planted them in my low light 20 gal...lol

Back view: As you can see, there is a massive slope from front to back to create a massive depth illusion.

Very messy room after finishing planting.

Close up view: There is no hardscape, just lots of glosso and hairgrass cause I was too lazy to scape.

I got free algae-eating snails with the plants!

Summary:
If you think planting glosso is a PITA, hairgrass is PITA 10x. For glosso, all you do is trim down the roots, then for each plantlet there is one root. So all you do is plant one root deep down the substrate. The hairgrass, on the other hand, comes in a massive tangle of roots that is really hard to separate. After painfully separating the roots for planting, you get a mess of grass that takes forever to plant. When I finished planting, little clumps of hairgrass started floating to the surface.

As well, tweezers are probably the most important tool you need. Fingers are too big to have good planting control. I actually planted with water in the tank. I find it easier because it easily tells you if you didn't plant firmly enough. The plants simply float to the top.

I nearly forgot about the 2 pygmy cories while I was planting the nano. I left them to acclimate via drip method in a bucket, and nearly forgot about them. As well, I nearly dried out the filler plants from the nano and the large-leafed hygro when I took them out. Good thing I remembered.

Also, I'm going EI method with dry ferts pre-mixed in water solution. It's a lot cheaper than going for the SeaChem line. It lasts a lot longer, you have more control over dosage. The only problem I had was finding places that sold dry chemicals. I found that the hydroponic industry has a lot in common with planted tanks. Afterall, they specialize in growing plants for food. They have lots of the PMDD chemicals, cheaper large-scale, powerful lighting fixtures, cheaper C02 systems, test probes, and everything else you can think of. I definitely recommend going to a hydroponic store to see what you can pick up.

11-11-2007, 01:54 AM	#19 (permalink)
dekstr Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2) Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,147	MASSIVE UPDATE TODAY!!!!! I went down to Menagerie and got a whole bunch of plants. 1 bunch of Elocharis acicularis--Java Fern 1 bunch of Hygrophila polysperma (Large-leafed) 1 2x2 mat of Elocharis acicularis--Dwarf Hairgrass 1 bunch of Glossostigma elatinoides There was also HC that just came with the shipment Thursday, but it was $15 for like a 2x2 mat. The hairgrass also cost $15. The glosso cost $5. I needed the hairgrass, and it came down to HC versus glosso. Obviously I got glosso cause it cost less. I was all geared up to get myself 3-4 Corydoras habrosus (Salt and Pepper Cory) because the new shipment had just arrived Thursday and they're usually rare in Toronto. But turns out the cardinals which were housed in the same tank developed ich--so not for sale until the ich clears up. I got to put 3 cories on hold though. There were also some Rasbora maculata that came with the shipment. They would've been perfect for the nano except my tank's not cycled yet. No worries though since they said there were like 400 of them left. Also got some frozen brine shrimp for the first time; I put about the same amount as they would normally finish flakes in one minute. My fish went crazy and obliterated the shrimp in about 10 seconds. So I fed them again five minutes later... and then again five minutes later. I think I overfed. The java fern and hygro went to my main 20 gal high low tech. The glosso and hairgrass went to my nano!!! The plants in the bag. Plants on a plate + drained most water from tank. The moment I realized that there was way too much hairgrass to plant. I ended up having a lot leftover. Didn't want to throw it out so I planted them in my low light 20 gal...lol Back view: As you can see, there is a massive slope from front to back to create a massive depth illusion. Very messy room after finishing planting. Close up view: There is no hardscape, just lots of glosso and hairgrass cause I was too lazy to scape. I got free algae-eating snails with the plants! Summary: If you think planting glosso is a PITA, hairgrass is PITA 10x. For glosso, all you do is trim down the roots, then for each plantlet there is one root. So all you do is plant one root deep down the substrate. The hairgrass, on the other hand, comes in a massive tangle of roots that is really hard to separate. After painfully separating the roots for planting, you get a mess of grass that takes forever to plant. When I finished planting, little clumps of hairgrass started floating to the surface. As well, tweezers are probably the most important tool you need. Fingers are too big to have good planting control. I actually planted with water in the tank. I find it easier because it easily tells you if you didn't plant firmly enough. The plants simply float to the top. I nearly forgot about the 2 pygmy cories while I was planting the nano. I left them to acclimate via drip method in a bucket, and nearly forgot about them. As well, I nearly dried out the filler plants from the nano and the large-leafed hygro when I took them out. Good thing I remembered. Also, I'm going EI method with dry ferts pre-mixed in water solution. It's a lot cheaper than going for the SeaChem line. It lasts a lot longer, you have more control over dosage. The only problem I had was finding places that sold dry chemicals. I found that the hydroponic industry has a lot in common with planted tanks. Afterall, they specialize in growing plants for food. They have lots of the PMDD chemicals, cheaper large-scale, powerful lighting fixtures, cheaper C02 systems, test probes, and everything else you can think of. I definitely recommend going to a hydroponic store to see what you can pick up. Last edited by dekstr; 11-11-2007 at 04:15 AM.